November 1st
by La Fille Avec Le Stylo
Summary: When Lily Potter woke up that morning, she did not know that Lord Voldemort had been defeated the night before. Nor did she know the cost his defeat would come at. Oneshot.


Lily Potter woke up to the sound of her son, Harry, screaming at the top of his lungs. "James," she said sleepily, pushing the sleeping figure of her husband next to her. "James. He's crying. Can you get him?"

"Can you?" James murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

"No, I was up until three in the morning with him."

"What time is it now?"

"Eight. Come on, love, please?"

"Fine," James sighed, rolling out of bed. Lily heard him shuffle out the door and down the hall to the room where Harry slept and rolled over onto her side. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come, but it was no use. She was awake, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Yawning and stretching, Lily pulled herself from the warmth of her comforter. Too tired to shower properly, she cast a quick hygiene charm on herself and pulled on a pair of jeans and an old t- shirt, too fatigued to care how she looked.

"James, I'm making breakfast," she called as she passed Harry's room, where James was shushing their one- year- old son. "Want anything?"

"Mind scrambling some eggs?" he asked quietly, clearly afraid to wake the boy he had just rocked back to sleep.

"They'll be ready in a few minutes," she assured him, making her way down the stairs and into their sunny kitchen.

Lily loved her kitchen. It was bright and happy, with various pictures of and drawn by Harry adorning the walls. She pulled open the fridge and collected some eggs from the carton it contained, cracking them into the frying pan she had placed on the stovetop. Though she was a fully qualified witch, Lily Potter took pleasure in doing some things the Muggle way, the way she had been taught to do them as a child. Cooking was one of those things.

As she worked on the eggs and put some sausage on to cook, Lily reflected on the previous night. It had been Harry's second ever Halloween, but it hadn't been exactly normal. She, James and Harry had found themselves confined to their house, unable to leave for their safety's sake. She didn't know why Lord Voldemort wanted them dead so badly, but until he was gone she was going to do everything within her power to keep Harry safe, and if that meant never leaving their small home in Godric's Hollow, then so be it.

"Smells great," James said happily, bounding into the kitchen. Lily smiled and slid some food onto a plate, which she handed to James along with a knife and fork.

"He's asleep, then?" she asked, filling a plate with food for herself.

"Finally," James laughed through a mouth filled with egg.

"Close your mouth, James, that's disgusting."

James swallowed and smirked. "Sorry, Lil." The two sat and chewed in companionable silence until Lily was finished eating.

"James, I'm worried."

"Why?"

"Well, what if He finds out where we are?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if Wormy lets it slip?"

"He would never," James said, a note of finality in his voice. Lily, however, was not finished.

"He might! Voldemort is a powerful Dark wizard, he has ways of getting information! Albus himself seemed worried about appointing Wormtail as our Secret Keeper."

"Wormy won't let us down."

"We should have used Sirius."

"He would have expected Sirius."

Lily was silent for a moment, then- "and what if we're never allowed out of here, and Harry gets bored? He might wander off, and then-" she broke off at the thought of what could happen if Harry ever left the safety of their home.

"He won't," James said grimly.

"We can't keep him in one place forever," Lily said sadly. "One day he won't find colored bubbles from our wands as interesting as he does now, and he might leave."

"He won't," James said firmly, leaning over and giving Lily a kiss. Lily smiled weakly and James cleared the table of dishes, causing them to, with a flick of his wand, begin cleaning themselves.

"So what are your plans for the day?" Lily asked brightly, standing up giving James a quick kiss. "More teaching Harry how to fly on that broomstick Sirius sent?"

"Of course," James laughed. "It would be horrific if he didn't know how to play... I'd have to disown him."

"You're horrible," Lily laughed, swatting him playfully.

James was about to respond when his best mate, Sirius Black, stumbled out of their fireplace.

"Sirius!" Lily said happily. "Great to see you! Do you want any breakfast?"

"No thanks, Lil," Sirius said. His voice was trembling and he looked extremely shaken. Shaking his head silently, he collapsed into a chair at the table.

"What's wrong, Pads?" James asked, quickly taking the seat opposite Sirius.

"So much," Sirius sad gravely. "I don't even know where to start."

Lily shot a worried look at James and sat down in a free chair. "Just start from the beginning," she said, her voice hesitant. It wasn't easy to shake Sirius like this, she knew. Seeing him in this state worried her.

"Last- last night He went to Alice and Frank's house," Sirius started.

"No!" Lily gasped, not wanting to hear any more. Alice and Frank Longbottom were two of Lily and James' best friends, and very gifted Aurors.

"And he- he- he-" Sirius cut off and just began shaking his head again.

"Go on," James pressed. "He what?"

"They're dead," Sirius said simply. Lily gasped and put her hands to her face. "Alice and Frank... dead."

James and Lily started at each other in silence.

"But then," Sirius continued, his voice strange, "he went for Neville. You know, their son." James and Lily knew Neville. He had often played with Harry when Frank and Alice had visited. "He tried but, he couldn't... couldn't do it."

"Do what?" James asked.

"Kill him."

"You mean-"

"Yeah," Sirius answered. "Neville's alive. Dumbledore sent him to live with his grandmother. You know, Frank's mum."

"How?" Lily asked, bewildered.

"Dumbledore has an idea of how, I think, but he isn't letting on," Sirius answered. "As for me, I haven't the foggiest."

"Well, what happened to Him?" Lily asked. "Escaped again?"

Sirius shook his head slowly. "No, that's the real mystery. He's gone."

"What?" James gasped. Lily gaped at Sirius, who didn't notice.

"Just gone. Disappeared. Nobody knows where."

"Oh my lord," Lily whispered. "That's so... Alice and Frank. And poor Neville."

"He's gone, though," James said, awed. "He might never come back."

"Something about Neville stumped him," Sirius agreed. "After all he's done..."

"He couldn't kill a little baby," Lily finished, slumping back in her chair.

Lily, James and Sirius sat in silence, shaking their heads in awe and wonder at what had happened. A baby, a tiny baby, a boy only a few days older than Harry, had defeated Lord Voldemort. After years of murdering some of the greatest witches and wizards of their time, He was unable to kill a mere child. The idea of it was so great and so terrible that it was almost incomprehensible to the witch and wizards gathered at that kitchen table that November 1st.

In a room nearly directly above the table where they were sitting, an unscathed Harry Potter slept soundly in his crib.


End file.
